Paris (AFP)
The dismantling of the scaffolding which conditions the possibility of starting the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris will be completed before the end of September, assured Thursday the president of the public establishment, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, reaffirming that the cathedral would reopen in deadlines in April 2024.
"I have every reason to hope, to believe that this dismantling will be finished at the latest at the end of September," said the general, heard by the fact-finding mission of the National Assembly to Notre-Dame.
"You cannot have more than four rope access technicians simultaneously" who cut the metal bars with his saber saws, while "four other people are watching" this delicate operation he described, stressing that it was "slow" work.
The start of clearing the vaults had shown that they appeared "fairly solid and in good condition", he continued.
"We will launch in the next few days the important operation of internal consolidation of the vaults by scaffolding and bending", he said, adding that "a first campaign of complete cleaning of the floors must begin during the course of the summer, which will lower the lead level and facilitate future working conditions. "
"The cathedral no longer emits lead to the outside, and no abnormal blood lead level was found in the companions," he insisted, inviting to treat the subject "with rationality".
Will also begin soon "the assembly of the scaffolding for the removal of the large organ" of 8,000 pipes. A "millimeter" operation which "will take place in the fall". Before 2024, it will take "six months to re-harmonize the organ", he calculated.
Asked also about the many discussions around the restoration, the general replied with this formula: "we do not build a house by asking their opinion to all passers-by".
He did not want to speculate on the recommendations that could be made during a meeting scheduled for July 9 of a commission chaired by the Minister of Culture, in the presence of elected officials, experts and architects, and which is purely advisory. The majority of experts plead for an identical reconstruction.
© 2020 AFP